Cyprus police: 'Gang-raped Brit's attackers caught cleaning blood up'
‘Gang-raped Brit’s five attackers were caught trying to clean blood off hotel room floor after her sex assault’, Cyprus police claim as court hears harrowing new details of attack
- READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: British woman ‘gang raped by five Israelis’ in Cyprus ‘was forcefully dragged’ into room and has injuries consistent with an attack
Five men accused of gang-raping a British woman were caught trying to clean blood off the floor using bed sheets following the horrific attack, Cyprus police have said.
The alleged victim, 20, accused the group of Israeli men of gang-raping her in a hotel room during a pool party in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa, with harrowing new details of the ordeal emerging in court today.
Police investigator Andreas Nikolettis told the court that the 20-year-old woman said one of the five men had ‘forcibly’ taken her to his room after grabbing her hand while she was partying with friends around the hotel pool on September 3.
The Israeli then tried to remove her bathing suit while she pleaded with him to let her leave, he said, before the other suspects entered the room.
One had sex with the woman against her will and another forced her to perform oral sex while another two held her down in the bed.
The police van carrying Israeli men who are accused of raping a British woman arrives at the Famagusta District Courthouse on Tuesday
She said one suspect also held her up against the wall and had intercourse with her.
At some point, she managed to lock herself in the bathroom and began shouting for help.
She managed to flee the room by pushing the suspects aside and rejoined her friends who went with her to report the rape to the police.
MailOnline revealed last week the incident took place at the three-star Fedrania Gardens Hotel after the girl was invited to a party there as she was staying elsewhere.
Nikolettis said the woman, who was in a ‘bad psychological state’, identified the five suspects in a line-up.
Police immediately went to round up the five suspects after the ‘concise and detailed’ complaint by the woman and speaking with her friends
According to the investigator, the suspects were found trying to clean up blood stains on the floor of the hotel room using bed sheets.
A friend of the woman had told investigators that he saw her leaving the pool area with one of the Israelis, but he didn’t see the suspect using any force.
Two of the suspects admitted to having intercourse and oral sex with the woman, but insisted it was consensual and denied committing rape. The other three said they had no sexual contact with the woman.
The five men – three aged 19 and the other two 20 – have now had their detention extended for another six days by a court on the island.
Ayia Napa is popular with young tourists from across Europe who enjoy the resort’s multitude of nightclubs, bars, white-sand beaches and lively nightlife
Famagusta District Court Judge Petros Theophilou ruled that there’s ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the Israeli nationals may be implicated in the case and should remain in detention until police can complete gathering more evidence, including checking their cellphones for video or images relating to the incident.
Yiannis Habaris, a lawyer for three of the defendants
Yiannis Habaris, a lawyer for three of the defendants and lawyers from the firm Gabriel Kaimakliotis representing the other two, said they had no objections to the remand renewal.
Two of the suspects weren’t present in the courtroom because they were in isolation recovering from COVID-19, the lawyers said.
There were no closed-circuit television installations at the hotel.
About a dozen friends and relatives of the suspects were present in the courtroom during the hearing.
Ayia Napa is popular with young tourists from across Europe who enjoy the resort’s multitude of nightclubs, bars, white-sand beaches and lively nightlife.
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